As days stretched on to weeks the
dragon felt a odd sort of disappointment within him as things
continued on as usual. The princesses danced and entertained him at
his request, he ate well and Occasionally a knight or other hero
would show up to challenge him. Sadly, they almost always turned out
the exact same way: the hero or knight would challenge him, the
dragon would fly out to attack and a single breath of fire and it was
all over other than peeling the melted armor off the well cooked
bits.

And collecting any surviving magical
weapons, of course. It was a matter of pride that the dragon had a
whole collection of magical arms, most never having been used because
he'd killed the users before they had a chance to. Swords, bows,
shields, axes and many, many more, all still shining like the day
they were made.

Indulging his pride a bit the dragon
would take a princess or two aside and tell them a few tales of the
heroes who bore the weapons, leaving out their nasty end of course.
He was also careful to keep an wary eye on Brandywine, but she seemed
uninterested as she focused on serving the dragon's meals or
otherwise serving his needs.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Hurry up," Brandywine ordered as
the princesses rushed out of the kitchen, "we've got to keep the
food and wine flowing."

The meal was rougher than Brandywine
was used to making, but then again the blonde haired young woman
supposed a dragon didn't care if the thirty or more chickens he was
eating were well seasoned or not. Not to mention the whole cows,
sheep and other beasties. The trolls carried all the heavier dishes
but for actual cooking they were pretty bad, so much so that the
princesses had partially taken over.

Orione carried a jug of wine in each
hand as she hurried by, her dark brown hair tied back in a top knot.
The younger woman frowned, "We're already starting to run low.
Should we be breaking out the beer?"

"Not till the wine is done,"
Sharon noted as the tall redhead turned a pig on a spit, "I don't
like to mix my drinks and I doubt the dragon does either."

"I do," Rhia smirked, the black
haired woman lazily stirring a pot.

"You don't count," Sharon shot
back quickly with a grin.

Brandywine hid a smile as she worked,
making sure the pigs were tender enough. One of the things that had
been hardest to do over the past few weeks was trying to break the
others from their hopelessness. But day by day she had worked to show
them that there were indeed chances for them to escape, all they had
to do was seize them.

"Ho, Brandywine," the dragon
called, sounding very mellow from all the wine he drank and food he
devoured.

"Ho, lizard," Brandywine answered,
her simple robes flowing around her. As she had been taken in her
nigh things she had been forced to create her own garb, but
thankfully her sewing skills were up to the task.

The dragon frowned a bit boozily as he
said, "Show some respect, wench."

Brandywine served up more wine in the
large basin that the dragon slurped out of. "Of course, lord,"
she replied mildly.

As they fed him treats the dragon
moved less and less, watching them from his nest of gold and
valuables. The trolls also appeared to be slowing down, probably from
the heat in the large chamber. Rock trolls normally only seemed to
frequently cold regions like the north, so it was possible being out
of their home lands weakened them.

The dragon stirred as he peered at
them bustling back and forth. "I want to be entertained," he
grumbled, "dance for me."

Ar'hain swirled out in a set of
gauzy robes, the darker skinned black haired beauty reaching out to
Brandywine as they moved across the mostly level piles of gold in
front of the dragon. Together they danced back and forth in each
other's arms, carefully moving towards the far edges of the chamber
where the rarer treasures were stored, including the powerful magical
devices. Once there Brandywine was gracefully released, scrambling
for cover even as Jenny took her place in similar clothes, the sandy
blonde haired girl relaxing in her arms.

'Not that we're that alike,'
Brandywine mused as Ar'hain and Jenny swept back in front of the
dragon, 'but he's so drunk he may not notice.'

Quickly Brandywine made sure the few
remaining trolls were focused on the dragon, then hurried forward to
the rack of weapons. She dug through them quickly, finding a smaller
knife she concealed beneath her robes and carefully shuffled back to
work. Carefully she waited til the last of the trolls were gone for
their nightly patrols and the dragon was falling into slumber before
she made her move.

The dragon stirred slightly as
Brandywine walked to him as casually as possible, having reasoned
that sneaking would probably wake him instantly. Smoothly she pulled
the knife, feeling how light it was, then ran the last few steps as
she struck. The first cut dug deep in the startled dragon's chest,
sending hot blood pouring over he, then she dove deeper through the
chest cavity, searching for the heart.

"Princess..." the dragon managed
to gurgle.

Brandywine found the heart even as
blood gushed on her, blinding her for a moment. "I'm sorry,"
she hissed out as she struck with her blade deep into the muscle of
the heart, "I wanted to make this quick."

Once his heart burst the dragon almost
seemed to deflate, much of it's imposing size maintained by tensed
muscle. "Are you all right?" Cathryn hurried forward, the now
slimmer woman offering some support as they climbed out from under
the beast.

"I'll live," Brandywine grimaced
as she tried to get the gore out of her face.

"You did it," Cathryn murmured
softly, "even after all our planning I didn't think that you
really could..."

"Thanks," Brandywine sighed as she
stripped her bloody garb off and poured a basin of water over her,
"and we're not done yet." With as much efficiency as possible
she cleaned the blood off and dried before dressing in a simple tunic
and pants.

"The rock trolls," Sharon said as
she and the others hurried to where the dragon had stored the
enchanted weapons.

As Chisame picked up a shining katana
from her homelands to the east she asked, "How many of you know how
to use these?"

"I know how to use a sword,"
Brandywine admitted, "my father insisted I know how to protect
myself."

"Why am I not surprised," Rhia
muttered, looking at the pile of weapons with distaste.

Orione picked out a sword and handed
it to Rhia, "From what I remember of the dragon's stories this
sword could fight by itself."

"Thank you," Rhia tool it
awkwardly, almost as if she was handling a dead animal and not a
weapon.

With a certain amount of effort the
ladies sorted the weapons out, each one picking something that might
suit their talents, as well as sharing out the pieces of enchanted
armor that were there as well. Within a short time they were ready,
or at least as ready as they were ever going to be.

Jenny frowned as they headed to the
door of the dragon's chambers, "I still think we would be better
off waiting for rescue."

"There's nothing to stop the
trolls from killing us," Brandywine shrugged, "only the dragon
controlled them. Besides, there's no where in the castle that we
can defend against them til help arrives."

Ar'hain hefted a spear confidently
as they opened the main doors, peering out into the halls beyond,
"You still expect rescue?"

"I think they're going to try,"
Brandywine said honestly as they moved forward, the magical torches
lighting up as they did so.

"The princesses!" a troll
bellowed, charging out of the darkness where he had been standing
guard, the massive stone like beast looming over them.

Without thinking Jenny drew the bow
she carried, then with a soft twang released as the arrow unerringly
sped to strike deep into the startled troll's throat. As it
frantically grabbed at the arrow's shaft Rhia swept forward, her
startled cry drowned out by the trolls bellow of pain as she stabbed
swiftly through it's heart.

"Rhia, that was amazing," Jenny
blurted, looking at the elegant woman in surprise.

"It wasn't me," Rhia was looking
at her now filthy sword in astonishment, "it felt that the sword
was commanding me, not I it!"

They moved through the hall then out
into sections of the castle that had been forbidden them, descending
down paths and stairs farther and farther towards the earth. Peering
out windows they had known how high the keep was above the ground,
but taking the stairs they really felt the distance. The magical
weapons helped them make short work of two troll patrols, but the
trip down was taking forever.

"I'm going to die," Cathryn
groaned as they exited a stairwell into another long passageway.

There was a moment of dead silence
before Chisame whispered, "They may help you."

Gathered at the end of the passageway
was the largest band of trolls yet, nearly fifty strong and led by
the hulking troll Brandywine remembered was the leader. "Princesses!"
the great troll growled, "You have slain our master. For that, you
will die."

With a gulp of fear Jenny drew her bow
even as the others readied their weapons. Whatever else might happen,
none of them were willingly going back to captivity. Brandywine
hefted shield and sword as she took a step forward as she called to
the trolls, "You really don't want to try this."

"Why not?" a laughing troll called
from the back.

"We killed your master, the last of
the great dragons," Brandywine smiled evilly as she bluffed,
"imagine what we can do to you."

"She's bluffing!" the troll
leader yelled.

"Now," Brandywine whispered to
Jenny

With a thwang the arrow released, this
time zipping into the eye of the troll, dropping him in a burst of
blood. As the trolls drew back in shock the princess' roared and
charged forward, waving weapons and whooping loudly. There was a
tense moment when the trolls raised their weapons but they faltered
then broke and ran, fleeing out the doors and revealing the sunlight
and a courtyard beyond.

"We did it," Rhia breathed out,
"WE DID IT!"

"Well, we still have to get home,"
Sharon noted.

"Spoilsport," Rhia said, but she
was still grinning.

End

Notes: May or may not do a part three,
dealing with Brandywine getting home possibly still with a princess
or three in tow. We'll see how inspired I get.

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